The Night I discovered My Destiny
by muentiger
Summary: Reply to SkyeElf's challenge for Skye Night. Anna has always been outcast, but why? And what is her destiny to be if she doesn't even know who she is?  And why in the name of Merlin does Sage keep checking his hair?


**A/N: Hello, people of earth. I return, bearing marvelous news. My bloody writer's block has dissipated, thanks to my sister! Thanks Lee! You are the best! This is a story for a challenge she posted on her story, "Skye Night." Unless you happen to be psychic, you will not understand the nature of this story unless you have read hers first. This is me shamelessly advertising about her story, which is bloody brilliant and begging for more loyal fans. I am a Skylark, and proud to be so. Lee, this is a response to your challenge, I hope you like reading it as much as I loved writing it. Without further ado, this is Anna's Prologue: **

Anna's POV:

I sat in the library, alone except for my best friend, Sage, who was absentmindedly checking his hair in the dark window by the Restricted section. I had my suspicions about why, but I was tactful enough to keep quiet about them. Even for Sage, one of the most well-liked guys in the school, such behaviors were not even accepted in the Wizarding world.

Rolling my eyes, I turned a page as Madam Pince began walking towards him malevolently, a leather book in her hands. As usual, we were the last visitors of the day, or more correctly _I _was, Sage simply tagging along because I made him. For years, we had been the best of friends, and our bond had only grown closer after he had openly defended me in front of some Slytherins last year. In truth, he was my only friend, the rest of the population avoiding me like they avoided Loony Lovegood, though not for the same reason. They avoided me because I talked in entire paragraphs and I preferred spending my time in a library as opposed to something childish. In short, I was a nerdy introvert, and not someone many people enjoyed being with.

"What are you doing?" she spat, eyeing him over the top of her spectacles as his breath caused the glass to mist over.

"N-nothing. Just admiring the view," he muttered and she narrowed her beady eyes. I sighed deeply and walked over, placing the book where it belonged and preparing to save Sage from whatever crap he was about to get himself into.

"Good evening, madam," I said silkily, walking over to Sage and glancing out the window. The British sun was setting over the Black Lake, and I sighed deeply, as I spotted a thestral descending from the clouds and into the forest.

"Evening, Ms. Le Roux," she replied curtly and I smiled brightly, glancing at Sage, who had blanched all but entirely.

"I apologize for the atrocious grievance my friend has imposed upon your wondrous sanctuary of literary knowledge. You see, I had read in one of the Herbological texts about the night cycle of the Moonflower, and Sage here volunteered to keep a lookout for the patch that we had discovered while I found the book, so I could know when to properly harvest them. My grandmother taught me about herbal treatments when I was quite young, and since she's running a tad low on leaves, I was given permission by Professor Sprout to harvest the leaves if I found them. But I see we have made an imposition upon your generous hospitality, Madam. We wish you a good evening," I said cordially, tugging Sage's arm and pulling him out of the library, still in a daze.

"I hope you're happy. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for that book to become available? Everyone always checks it out because it contains all the details and tiny bits of magic that can improve your spell casting tenfold. All I needed was an hour, and I would have it memorized. But you needed to check your hair!" I shrieked, slinging my khaki bag over my shoulder and climbing down the stairs, smirking slightly when I heard his footsteps behind me. I had found out early on that yelling at Sage then storming away left absolutely no chance that he wouldn't follow you.

"Anna! Bloody hell, slow down, won't you?" he gasped and I glared at him, pulling out my wand from my jeans pocket.

"Oh hush. I'm going to go into the forest, maybe talk to the thestrals or Bane for a bit. Want to come?" I asked and he nodded eagerly. The Forbidden Forest was the only place where we could really talk, especially if we needed to talk about our powers. Sage was part siren, as he had termed himself. When I had first seen him, I thought he was the oddest person I had ever seen, with his silky black hair that seemed to float as though he was underwater and his vibrant green, almost emerald eyes. Sage may not pay any attention to them, but half the girls at Hogwarts were at his feet, with his amazing charm and good looks. Hell, even I'd had a brief crush on him, though it had only lasted about a week, until my mind had picked up on his odd quirks, and pieced the puzzle together. But he wasn't interested in any of the girls at Hogwarts, he had told me so.

"_Desillusionne," _I whispered and he shuddered as I watched him disappear in front of my eyes. I repeated the same spell over myself, exhaling sharply as I felt the familiar sensation of an egg being cracked on my head.

"Hermione Granger, step back. The brightest with of the age is Anna Le Roux!" he joked and I punched him in the gut before stomping furiously out of the grounds and into the forest, where I removed the charm and sat on a log, my head in my hands. If there was one thing Sage would never understand, it was my drive to be the best. Every single year, however, I was driven to utter humiliation by the frizzy-haired Gryffindor, who reminded me so much of myself, though the very thought of Ronald Weasley disgusted me as much as it obviously entranced her. She beat me in everything, and no matter how hard I tried, she seemed to be able to do everything ten times better. Despite that painful fact, I did not hate her. My emotions were deeply rooted in jealousy, and Sage had never been able to pick up on that tiny fact.

"Annie?" I heard a voice mutter and I lifted my head to find my very flustered best friend staring at me with regret. "Shit, I'm sorry. I know you have that thing with Granger, and I was stupid for saying that." I chuckled and wiped my eyes. Ever since he had learned, however bluntly, of my jealousy (as though Malfoy could have learned the Densangeo curse by third year, ha!), Sage had become the sole Gryffindor to refer to Hermione by her surname only.

"It's fine, Sage," I nodded, and he pulled me into a hug, which surprisingly calmed me down a great deal. I'd have to remember the effects of hugs on the heart rate.

"Gods, Anna. I don't understand you! Why are you always so uptight about Granger? You're smarter than anyone I know, and the last time I checked, Granger returned her time-turner because of the stress, whereas yours is still in your bag!" he gestured to a pocket and I shrugged, shaking my head. Granger flaunted her knowledge like a veela flaunted her beauty, and she received so much praise for it. With her around, who'd pay attention to me?

"But still. You know that I consider second place utter failure. How else do you want me to explain it?" I asked him and he thought about this for a while before releasing me from the hug and kicking around some leaves, tactfully dropping the subject.

"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?" he asked and I raised a hesitant eyebrow. We only came to the Forest if one of us was in distress, mostly because of the new threat of Voldemort looming over our heads. Aurors had been placed everywhere, and if it weren't for our abilities, we would have been caught a long time ago.

"Merlin, Sage. Not even you are that thick!" I exclaimed and he laughed, leaning back leisurely against one of the immense trees.

"You'd be surprised. We mermen need to have thicker skulls than normal, to deal with all the wailing and such," he winked playfully and I stood up, my hands crossed in front of my chest.

"Well, we could begin the discussion here, or go a bit deeper," I stated, gesturing to the forest. Sage grimaced and rubbed his head absentmindedly.

"I'd rather not. You ruined my favorite jeans enough last time when you knocked me off your centaur-self," he complained and I laughed at the look of disappointment on his face.

"Okay, then we can begin with the most blatant question," I said plainly and he smirked, pulling out a bag from his pocket. My eyes went wide as I recognized its contents: Honeydukes' Chocolate-covered Sugar Cubes. An unfortunate side effect of my horse-whispering abilities was my new penchant for sugar cubes, which I had slowly become addicted to.

"You're such an enabler," I muttered, grabbing the bag as he grinned widely, seeing my satisfied look as I popped one of the cubes into my mouth.

"But you love me anyways," he said confidently and I stuck out my tongue, sucking happily on the sugar cube.

"You caught me," I admitted and he laughed at my downtrodden expression, his eyes glowing in the dim light emanating from the balls of light I had created, which now floated leisurely above our heads.

"What's the question?" he asked and I set down the bag of cubes, standing up so that I was at eye-level with him.

"It's not a question, as much as a statement, Sage. You're gay," I told him bluntly and his face flushed as his eyes stared adamantly at the ground, focused on the crinkled leaves.

"There's no point in denying it. I'm never wrong," I said kindly and he laughed bitterly, glaring at me with venom.

"I'm waiting," he muttered and I raised a dark eyebrow, throwing back my furiously wavy hair like a horse's mane. Which, in all honesty, it was.

"Waiting for what, Sage? For a thick Gryffindor, you can be unbelievably cryptic," I laughed and he looked at me disbelievingly. Between the two of us, I was the smart one, and puzzles were my obsession, a fact that Sage well knew.

"Don't pretend, Anna. Like I don't already know that you're going to just going to laugh at me for being a dirty fag and walk away," he said darkly, turning on his heel and stomping further into the forest, leaving me standing in the clearing, nonplussed.

Extinguishing the flames, I followed him into the dark forest, but my human senses picked up on nothing. Sighing deeply, I dropped my things on the ground and marked the spot with a spell of my own invention, making sure that I could find it later. Reluctantly, I dropped my wand momentarily and cleared my mind of all things human. Finally, I felt my legs lengthen, turning into the powerful front legs of a thoroughbred. The uncomfortable sensation of being tugged into nothingness told me I was sprouting the other half of my centaur-self, and I stumbled back, my strong hind legs supporting my newfound weight.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was taller, my horse legs being far greater than my human ones. With a groan, I remembered the first time I had transformed, an utterly agonizing experience. Thankfully, my body had become much more accustomed to the transformations, the agony simply turning into odd discomfort. As a centaur, my lower half was that of a chestnut Budyonny, my coat shiny and copper-colored and my top half was still human, though my senses of sight, smell and hearing were heightened. I reared backward and neighed loudly, throwing back my intolerably frizzy hair, which fell to my waistline. Stooping down, I pocketed the wand in the pocket of my sweater and galloped away, my sense of smell searching for Sage's telltale ocean-and-cologne scent.

Finally, I found him, sitting by the shore of a bubbling stream. His eyes were red, rimmed with tears, and I realized that he must've been crying.

"What do you want?" he spat, wiping the tears from his eyes and looking away from me, his silky, shaggy hair falling over his eyes.

"To talk, mostly," I answered and he snorted derisively. Stepping forward tentatively, I tucked my legs under myself and let my tail flick into the water.

"I should've known you'd find me, you always do," he chuckled and I grinned, flicking water onto his face.

"Sage, why did you think that I'd walk away? Is that what you really think about me?" I asked and he shook his head violently, not looking up at me.

"Of course not, Anna. You're my best friend, and I thought that if I told you, I'd lose you. It's not exactly normal, my...situation," he stammered and I placed a consoling hand on his shoulder as he began sobbing.

"Shh, Sage," I whispered, and I pulled him towards me, so that he was nestled by my flanks. Sage rarely cried, but when he did, I was one of the only people that could stop him. I guess he bottled up his feelings so much, they all exploded when he let them out.

"I'm so sorry," he breathed, mortified by his behavior.

"What utter balls. You are so stupid sometimes!" I laughed and even he joined in, though his voice was throaty and croaky. After a while, he hugged me tightly and I saw that I had changed back, my lower body no longer that of a horse.

"So you're not disgusted by me? By what I am?" he whispered, pulling away from my hug. With a sigh, I smacked him upside the head and he splashed me with water in retaliation.

"You idiot! Sage, of course I'm not. Being gay doesn't make you a freak, it makes you special, unique. And you're my best friend. When I said that I'd never run, I meant it. Don't you get how much of a freak I am, too? Forget about Granger for a second, and look at me. I can't even get up the nerve to talk to anyone besides you and Madam Pince!" I exclaimed, and he brushed my hair aside, letting it fall in a curly mess over my left shoulder.

"Look who's talking bollocks now, Annie. You're brilliant and beautiful, but you're also immeasurably strong. That scares people, because you don't need absolutely anyone to rely on," Sage whispered and I snorted, brushing the tears out of my eyes.

"You know that's not true, Sage. I couldn't go a day without you," I replied and he grinned brightly, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he threw his hand into the air.

"Well, that's true. You'd wind up walking around in purple and orange clothing!" he shuddered, as though that were the worst possible crime I could ever commit. The air around us brightened considerably as our peals of laughter rang through the leaves of the canopy.

"I resent that! Contrary to popular belief, I can actually dress myself," I argued and he shot me a questioning look, one perfect eyebrow raised in a dubious expression.

"Right. And I'm a Grindylow," he added sarcastically, making me cross my hand tightly in front of my chest, pouting petulantly like a five-year old.

"That's debatable," I retorted and he huffed indignantly, his eyes shining vividly as he glanced into the clear water of the stream. I saw his face droop in thought, and he wrapped his arms around his legs, shivering slightly. Flicking my wand, I conjured a thick blanket and wrapped it around his thin, muscular figure.

"Thanks," he murmured, drawing it closer about him. "Anna?" he whispered, his voice thin with the weight upon his shoulders.

"Hmm?" I replied vaguely, my mind getting drawn into the stars again, as visions flashed behind my eyes. They barely allowed me to sleep, and I had been reduced to making myself Sleeping Draughts, my grandmother sending me the ingredients in steady supply. Upon my dad's suggestion, I had tried some Muggle sleeping remedies as well, but the visions penetrated my dreams as well. And no one could sleep through such dreams, not even Voldemort himself.

"Why? I mean, we're not Harry, or the Empress. Why us?" he asked and I bit my lip in thought. Ever since I had found out about what our powers meant for our future, I had been trying to figure out why it had chosen us specifically, but the stars told me nothing. Mars was brighter than ever, with Mercury flying circles around the sky, creating trouble wherever he went.

"I don't think there's a specific reason. Fate has its reasons, and if our Empress needs us, who are we to not answer her call?" I replied, and he turned to me, his eyes wide with wonder.

"I'm afraid, Annie. I know I may seem depressed and stuff, but I don't want to die," he said softly, his voice cracking at the end. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears and I placed my hand on his head, tousling his hair playfully, even though I knew he hated it.

"You're not going to die, Sage," I stated simply, as though it were a fact out of Hogwarts, A History.

"How can you know that? Honestly, I can understand why you were chosen to help the Empress. Potter needs Granger as brains, and he's going up a much less formidable foe. The Empress needs you, Annie, there's no one else. But me? I'm not smart, or brave, so why am I even here? What's the point of living if you have no purpose?" he ranted, his eyes shining brighter than usual as I noticed the water beginning to bubble dangerously.

"Sage, calm down, please," I whispered and the water calmed, flowing freely over the bank. Whipping my wand out, I cast a quick _Muffliato _around us before delivering a powerful punch to his face. I may not look particularly strong, but my mom had insisted upon martial arts, Gods bless her, and I found it beyond easy to trap him in a classic pin, his arm pinned to his back.

"Now you listen very closely, Sagittarius Oberg. You are not _worthless_. We all have a purpose-" I began, but he cut me off, knocking me off his pinned form with a swift kick to the guts. I fell down hard, the breath flying out of my lungs, but quickly rolled back onto my feet. However, Sage towered over my fairly petite figure, his tall frame looming over me threateningly with eyes that blazed emerald fire.

"No, Anna. YOU listen, for once. Just because you're all smart and centaur-y and stuff does not mean you have a right to tell me how to feel. And don't give me that purpose bullshit. I didn't need you to drag me out here and interrogate me with questions because you figured out my secret. Congrats, you solved the puzzle, Annie! Did you seriously think I was keeping it secret for no reason? Stop this damned pity already!" he screamed and I stood up, blasting him away from me with a bit of well-placed wandless magic.

"Fuck this charade, Sage. I know you're not mad, you're just scared. Well, guess what, Mr. High-and-Mighty, so am I! You're family's a bunch of complete bastards who frankly deserve to die. Don't talk to me like I'm your family house-elf, because I know what's to come. But, you know what, I know that it will only get worse if we don't help. And I'm not willing to sacrifice my family to fear. So, come and talk to me when you're willing to treat me like a human being," I spat, brushing the tears out of my eyes, before turning my back to him and stomping away into the brush once more. For once, I couldn't hear his thunderous footsteps as I combed through the brush, and past the towering redwoods.

The moon shone brightly and I shivered as I spotted an owl looking at me from a branch.

"Go away!" I shrieked, sending red sparks from my wand. In my country, owls were a symbol of death, and my mind couldn't help but wonder if it was a sign regarding what I had said to Sage. As much as he had pissed me off, he certainly didn't deserve to die, he was too purely good of a person. My own Head of House stated multiple times that I would have made a fine Slytherin, that I had enough cunning for such a thing, but the simple truth was that my heart was too big. I cared about everything and everyone, no matter what they had done. Despite what Voldemort had done, I pitied him, and the same for his mother, my mortal enemy. Killing in cold blood is nonexistent; there always exists some reason, some purpose to it, whether or not the purpose is immoral.

"Sage!" I yelled, whirling around. The forest was dark, and not even my horse-eyes could make out more than the trees and occasional squirrel. Suddenly, my eyes flashed white, and I collapsed, my wand falling to my side as the images rolled behind my eyes.

I was standing in a valley, between the Carpathian Mountains I had grown up in. My future-self was slightly taller, and she seemed to bear an air of authority and reassurance. Slowly, I followed her into what looked like an ancient battlefield, the grass littered with bones, weapons and overgrown stones. As I walked past, I stopped at certain areas, where Runes had been carved to warn trespassers.

"Mae hyn i gyd sy'n weddill o'r Brwydr y tynged. Os nad wyt yn was yr Ymerodres, un o galon gwir a meddwl, bydd ti yn dod o hyd i farwolaeth yn unig ac anobaith," they read, though I understood their message perfectly.

"This is all that remains of the Battle of the Destinies. If thou is not a servant of the empress, one of true heart and mind, thou shall find only death and despair." However, this didn't seem to deter me in the least and I kept walking straight, until I reached the center of the field. Two skeletons, with their hands joined, lay over the spot, seemingly struggling over something. I could feel a heartbeat, sure and steady, emanating from the spot and my mouth opened of its own will,"Rwyf yn was yr un a rheolau i gyd."(I am the servant of the one who rules us all)

The clouds covered the sky and a bright beam of silver light hit the earth. I reached my hand out and touched the shiny substance, but it simply scorched my hand, turning it as black as night. As quickly as the light had appeared, it disappeared yet again, leaving a crater in its midst. The hole radiated power, and at the bottom of it lay a set of old scrolls, looking as though they could belong in the ancient libraries at Alexandria. Stooping down, I pulled them out of the earth, and began to open them. These Runes dated back to the beginning of wizard kind, but I was able to decipher some of them. Out of nowhere, another body began glowing, though this had corporeal shape. It seemed to be that of a young veela, and my breath caught in my throat. His eyes shone amber, and his sharp features looked like something out of Da Vinci's dreams. As he moved closer, I saw his long mane of silver hair, as straight and fine as cornsilk, reach his waist.

"Do not be afraid of me, I am merely a messenger for the Fates," he said, his voice a reassuringly smooth and deep baritone.

"I am not afraid, merely intrigued," I laughed in reply and he grinned, shaking his head.

"But of course. I forgot to whom I was speaking," he chuckled and I smiled, clutching the parchment even closer. His vibrant eyes settled on mine and he sighed.

"Xenio Mito. It has been ages since anyone found this place," he gestured at the ruins around us. "It only presents itself in a time of great need."

"My Empress needs us," I finished, biting my lip with determination. My future-self crossed her arms and glared at the figure.

"Who are you?" I demanded and he stepped forward.

"I cannot tell you. Nor will I be able to do this again," he whispered, placing a kiss on my forehead. When my eyes reopened, he was gone, and the sky a brilliant blue, as though nothing had happened.

"Anna? Annie!" Sage yelled, and I sat up abruptly, hitting my head on Sage's.

"Ow! What the hell!" I shrieked, pushing him away. His face was flushed as he stumbled to his feet, trying to pull me close.

"Annie, please listen-" he began, but I cut him off, punching him square on his rock-hard chest. _Bloody siren genes!_

"No! You-despicable-asinine-ugh!" I cried, but he ignored me, simply wrapping his strong arms around my shaking figure. To my annoyance, I felt my heart rate begin to slow, though that was to be expected.

"I'm so sorry. You're right, and I'm just being..." he stopped and blushed, as I looked at him skeptically.

"You're just being you, Sage. I shouldn't have said that," I smiled sheepishly and he grins. Suddenly, I heard a howl, and Sage panicked, pulling out his wand and pointing it everywhere.

"Who's there?" he whispered, and I shushed him, my eyes settling on a most magnificent sight.

"Sage, it's her!" I gestured to the path where two wolves were running playfully, stopping every once in a while to jump on each other. One was pitch black, her eyes a bright green and the other was a brilliant silver, slightly faster than the female.

My eyes flashed again and I saw the true form of our Empress and her love: Skye Night and Draco Malfoy.

"Anna, what is it? What are you seeing?" Sage yelled, causing me to jump. I panted and shook my head, as the gears turned at the speed of light. It made sense now, all the oddities my mind naturally had picked about those two.

"Sage. That was our Empress," I said slowly and his mouth opened wide, threatening to swallow me whole.

"Seriously? I would have thought she'd look more...Empress-y?" he mused and I shook my head, my knees threatening to buckle. For years, I'd been beside my Empress, and I hadn't known?

"That's not all," I muttered and he drew me close, seeing that I was close to collapse.

"What do you mean?" he asked, and I gulped.

"Our Empress, I know who she is," I whispered, looking into his sea-green eyes, but he merely grinned excitedly.

"Who?" he nearly yelled and I bit my lip.

"Skye Night," I replied, and he went silent.

**A/N: So, what do you say? Lee, please review! Any other reviewers or critics are highly appreciated! I love you guys!**


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